DiVosta Homes Opens Four New Model Homes at Sandhill Preserve on Palmer Ranch in Sarasota

Sarasota, Fla. --- DiVosta Homes recently opened four new professionally decorated model homes at Sandhill Preserve on Palmer Ranch, the gated luxury community located at 11123 Shearwater Court off Central Sarasota Parkway and Honore Avenue in Sarasota. Scott Mairn, vice president of sales and marketing for DiVosta Homes in South Florida, said DiVosta is building two and three-bedroom single-family homes at Sandhill Preserve on Palmer Ranch in six distinctive floor plans priced from $322,990. The single-story Abbeyville model showcases an open family gathering and entertainment area with added optional second floor loft with bedroom and bath, increasing the bedroom and baths to three and three and square footage to 2,284 from the base Abbeyville plan of two and two and 1,659 square feet. The Abbeyville is priced from $322,990. The Tangerly Oak model, with 2,589 square feet of living space, showcases the optional third bedroom with full bath in lieu of the flex room and is priced from $433,990 with an island kitchen that serves a spacious gathering room, dining room and café for entertaining along with a covered lanai with optional outdoor kitchen. The Pinnacle, with three bedrooms and three baths in 2,488 square feet of living space, is priced from $423,990 with a two-car garage and optional cart garage. The Pinnacle model at Sandhill Preserve showcases the den in lieu of flex room and features zero corner sliding glass doors off the gathering room. DiVosta’s popular Martin Ray plan basically comes with two bedrooms and two baths in 1,968 square feet priced from $351,990. But the Martin Ray model at Sandhill Preserve showcases the optional third bedroom in lieu of the golf cart garage, increasing living area to 2,107 square feet. Sandhill Preserve on Palmer Ranch will offer a resort-style swimming pool and community clubhouse with a state-of-the-art fitness center, two tennis courts, walking paths, a fire pit, the outdoor Barefoot Bar and barbeque grill. The Amenity Center is slated for opening in 2015.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Completes Design of two new Aldi Food Stores

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, completed design of two new Aldi Food Stores, one in St. Augustine and the other in Florida City in South Dade County. The Aldi in St. Augustine will be 17,000 square feet according to Cuhaci & Peterson Chairman Lonnie Peterson, and the one in Florida City will be 16,400 square feet. Cuhaci & Peterson Architects is one of the nation’s leading designers of retail space with projects that total more than two million square feet annually.

Hold-Thyssen Negotiates New Retail Lease with Dosa Hut at Colony Crossing Shopping Center in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. --- Hold-Thyssen real estate services recently negotiated a new lease agreement with Dosa Hut at the Colony Crossings Shopping Center located at the intersection of Hillsborough Ave. and Elliott Drive in Tampa. Richard Fisher, vice president of investor services at Hold-Thyssen’s Tampa office, negotiated the transaction representing the landlord Colony Crossing, LLC. The tenant leased 3,466 square feet at the center for an Indian fast food vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant is owned and operated by senior vegetarian chef Ramaprasad, who for the past 20 years has demonstrated his culinary art in South and North Indian dishes specializing in various kinds of Dosas. The recent grand opening of the restaurant was attended by over 2,300 patrons. Hold-Thyssen, Inc. is the leasing and management representative at the former Publix shopping center with a total of 117,000 square feet of retail space which is currently 65 percent leased.

Hold-Thyssen’s localized strategy earns two choice property management assignments

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hold-Thyssen, a real estate services firm headquartered in Winter Park, was recently awarded two choice property management assignments in the Maitland Center and high-growth southwest Orlando. Robert Hold, president of Hold-Thyssen, Inc., said the new assignments include 258 Southhall Lane, a 90,000 square foot office building at prestigious Lucien Pointe in the Maitland Center area, and Phillips Place, a 56,000 square foot office building on Dr. Phillips Blvd. in Orlando’s thriving southwest sector near its tourism corridor. Each building has different ownership. Hold said Hold-Thyssen’s approach to boutique, smarter property management earned both new assignments. “Institutional owners are learning what many middle-market owners have known for some time---that local ‘boutique’ property management firms offer the same access to information as the national brands along with the agility to respond instantly and intelligently to opportunities and market demands,” Hold said. Hold Thyssen assumed leasing and management of the 258 Southhall Lane building at Lucien Pointe in 2003 and soon achieved 100 percent occupancy, Hold said. The firm brokered the sale of the property in 2006 at the height of the real estate cycle. The property’s current owners recently invited Hold-Thyssen back to the table, Hold said. “Smaller, smarter leasing and management companies can be more aggressive, especially when it comes to brokerage and co-op structures,” Hold said. “Our principals are on the ground already. We don’t have a stable of first-year associates who need approval of a supervisor in another city when a unique opportunity arises,” Hold said. The Hold-Thyssen companies have managed commercial, office, and multi-family investment properties for more than 40 years. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 commercial properties.

ASHTON WOODS HOMES STARTS FINAL PHASE AT THE LANDINGS IN SOUTH TAMPA

TAMPA, Fla. – Ashton Woods Homes recently started selling in its final phase at The Landings located off Interbay and Westshore Blvds. in the Westshore region of South Tampa. Mike Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes in the Tampa Bay region, said the last phase at The Landings is comprised of 28 home sites for new three, four and five bedroom homes priced from $260,990 and ranging from approximately 1,556 square feet to 2,730 square feet of living area. Visit www.ashtonwoodshomes.com .

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty Named Exclusive Broker for Historic 104-Acre Silver Lake Golf Course in Leesburg

Leesburg, Fla. -- Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty has been named exclusive sales and marketing agents for the historic Silver Lake Golf Course, a 104-acre site located north of U.S. 441 in Leesburg. Owners of the site, which includes approximately 500 feet of frontage on Silver Lake, hope to sell the property to developers for a residential community. Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said International Marketing Specialist Patrick Whalen, with the firm’s Heathrow Real Estate Marketing Center, is representing the property. Opened in 1926---at the height of another Florida land boom---Silver Lake was home of one of Florida’s oldest amateur golf tournaments by the mid-1980s, with a waiting list of potential players. Leesburg officials proposed acquiring the property in 2005 for a municipal golf course but decided against it. The course closed in 2007. The Silver Lake property is listed for sale for $4.5 million, or approximately $43,000 per acre. Since December 2013, Stirling Sotheby’s Commercial Division has completed $33 million in closed land transactions.

Oceans Luxury Realty Sees Doubling of Sales

Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. -- Oceans Luxury Realty reports it doubled its sales since Jan. 1. Crystal Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Oceans Luxury Realty, said sales for the first five months of this year totaled over $13 million, compared with about $7 million last year. Oceans Luxury Realty now has two locations in Daytona Beach Shores and plans to open a third location in Ormond Beach by the end of September. “The recession is disappearing and we’re seeing a turnaround in condo sales,” Anderson said. “Short sales are heading into non-existence. It’s definitely a seller’s market,” she said.

NAI Realvest Negotiates Two New Retail Leases totaling 5,800 square feet for a Dunkin Donuts and Arthur Murray Dance Studio in East Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated two new retail leases on Alafaya Trail in east Orlando for a Dunkin Donuts and an Arthur Murray Dance Studio. The NAI Realvest team of Jeffrey Tanner and Kimberly Manson successfully transacted a new lease of 3,000 rentable square feet at Unit 10, 588 Alafaya Trail. Tanner and Manson represented both the tenant Santos Donuts Inc., a Dunkin Donuts franchisee who will be opening at this location and the Landlord, K & B Alafaya Associates LLC. Mary Frances West, CCIM, senior broker associate at NAI Realvest represented the tenant Impuls, LLC d/b/a Arthur Murray Dance Franchise Studio in a new retail space lease of 2,800 rentable square feet to operate a dance studio in suites 110-120 of the Stoneybrook Marketplace at 2504 S. Alafaya Trail. The landlord is Spoudazo 12 LLC.

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realtor Sees Uptick in Sales of Luxury Homes at Spruce Creek Fly-In But Sale Prices of Mid-Priced Homes Rising Even Faster

PORT ORANGE, Fla. --- Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty reports that sales of luxury homes at Spruce Creek Fly-In in Port Orange are increasing but prices on mid-level homes – those valued at under $500,000 – are increasing even faster as demand grows. Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of the firm, said from January through May 31, the Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty team of Associates Debbie Keilin and Rachel McGrath had 26 total sales for some $11.6 million. The average sale price of the homes they sold totaled $446,000, he added. The team is on target to reach $30 million in home sales this year, Soderstrom said. During the same period Keilin and McGrath have logged 14 listing assignments that average $520,000. The flurry of activity is producing a backlog in some areas. Keilin reports that real estate appraisals have slowed. "We are having appraisal problems because there is more demand than supply,” Keilin explained. Keilin added that many buyers are willing to pay over appraisal. “We are seeing prices increase faster on properties valued under $500,000 in Volusia County than luxury homes valued at $750,000 and up,” Keilin reported. Keilin said the summer months should slow sales a little. “Sales at Spruce Creek Fly-In are historically slower in the summer months,” Keilin said. “We project a big increase in sales starting in the fall,” she said.

Celebration Golf Management, Integrity Golf Company, The First Tee of Central Florida Ink Long-term Partnership to bring more Youth Golf Programs to Central Florida

CELEBRATION, Fla. / WINTER PARK, Fla. – Integrity Golf Company, LLC and its affiliate Celebration Golf Management, LLC, which collectively operate 18 golf courses in Central Florida, have signed an exclusive agreement with The First Tee of Central Florida to serve as the golf course provider for The First Tee’s programming beginning June 1. Kenny Nairn, chief operating officer at Celebration Golf Management, said that in addition to Integrity-managed Hunter's Creek Golf Club where the program has been underway since late 2012, the roll-out of The First Tee’s Life Skills Experience Program for youngsters ages 7 to 17 under the new contract will begin at the following Integrity and Celebration golf courses on the following timelines: • Summer 2014: Metro West Golf Club (Southwest Orlando) • Fall 2014: Stoneybrook West Golf Club (Winter Garden) • Winter 2015: Mayfair Golf Club (Sanford) • Winter 2015: Kissimmee Golf Club (Kissimmee) • Spring 2015: Kings Ridge Golf Club (Clermont) • Fall 2015: Eagle Creek Golf Club (Lake Nona area) The First Tee of Central Florida is a youth development organization that uses golf as a tool to teach young people positive values inherent in the game such as honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and confidence. “We must have outstanding community partners to really make a lasting impression on the lives of area youth, which is why we’re thrilled to join with Celebration Golf Management and Integrity Golf Company to exponentially increase the reach and impact of The First Tee’s programming throughout Central Florida,” said Thomas Lawrence, executive director of The First Tee of Central Florida. “This partnership enables us to expand into new areas—Lake, Osceola and Seminole Counties—and that’s going to make a huge difference in the lives of children who will not only learn the game of golf but life lessons along the way.” For more information about The First Tee’s mission, programs and partnerships, visit www.thefirstteecfl.org.